Wednesday, June 21, 2006

I Should be in Pictures: That's a Wrap.

Today appears to be my last day on the set. I shot my last scene this morning and I am now finished. At least I think so. As I promised, I went and got my haircut because I was told my next scene would be the scene in which the two main characters meet at the café and it wouldn’t matter if I had a different haircut. I chopped it all off, and it is markedly different from my wedding day scene and my domestic dispute scene.

I got the call yesterday afternoon that I was needed on set at 7:30 in the morning. As soon as I heard that, I got a little sick to my stomach because as I said earlier, I didn’t think I did that well in my big speaking scene. But I was told that I would have no lines and would be just in the background.

I awoke and headed to the location at the end of the earth. I found out pretty soon that the scene I was shooting was the scene I thought was cut from the movie. This scene took place the morning of the wedding. I knew right away this could be trouble. I had a brand new hair cut and the hair I had in the wedding scene was about 5 or 6 weeks of growth. The assistant director and the costume lady decided I needed a hat. The only problem with this is I have a head like an orange on a toothpick, well not that bad, but I have a huge noggin. We found a hat we liked and had to slit the back of it to fit on my large bulbous melon. It was a goofy looking straw cowboy hat, but it looked kind of “farmy” which was my character. I got in my overalls and we were ready.

It is scene time and the main character and I have been out all night celebrating his last night of freedom and when we walk into the scene we are both smoking a cigarette. I lit one up, but realized I wasn’t even going to be seen from that particular angle, so that was one cigarette smoked. I then lit up another one while we rehearsed but smoked it all before we got to shooting. Third cigarette goes up and we shot one take and the director and others were laughing. I assumed it was me, and was right. The hat I was wearing was kind of goofy, but that wasn’t it. I guess during the scene, I never really looked at the two main characters; I acted a little too disgusted or too bored at what I was seeing, or sensing, as it were. After take two and more laughing, I was told this information. Take three comes and I actually looked at the characters and when the “tender” hug comes, that’s when I become disgusted. It was good and I am finished, unless something else comes up.

I did not feel as uncomfortable this time as I had before because I actually interacted with the crew and the other actors before shooting. Perhaps if I had done this on the day of my speaking scenes I wouldn’t have felt like I blew it. All in all it was a good time and I enjoyed it. I hope that I can do this again sometime. And maybe I will when I start my other project. Assuming I can get the gear I need and get Bratch involved in doing something instead of just saying, “We ought to do this or that.” I will keep my “fans,” all one or two of you, posted on the release of this sure blockbuster about the hard knock life of an old geezer in the OC.